This invention is directed to store end cap shelving and more particularly to a system for quickly and easily rearranging the shelf position and relative spacing between adjacent shelves on such end caps. Historically, the end cap display shelves in retail stores such as drugstores, big box retailers, discount outlets and the like have open trays or shelves on which merchandise is supported and displayed for sale. The shelves are vertically spaced from each other and project perpendicularly from the end cap walls that are, in turn, provided with openings to receive supporting or hanging projections extending to from the rear of the shelves. Since end caps are normally utilized for sale, promotional and/or seasonal merchandise or goods and oftentimes that merchandise takes a variety of forms and sizes, it is desirable that the vertical position of the individual shelves or trays be easily and effortlessly moved up and down to accommodate the variously sized merchandise placed thereon.
For instance, the trays could support or contain small individual packages such as candy, cosmetics, office supplies and the like or could contain moderately large stuffed animals, electronics, kitchen electrics dependent on the store manager's marketing strategy and the season of the year. Naturally, the tray or shelf displaying the stuffed animals or other large items requires a larger to vertical spacing between itself and the tray immediately above than would a similarly placed tray having smaller items displayed thereon. Thus when the particular special or seasonal sale is over and alternate merchandise of differing sizes requiring dissimilar spacing requirements vis-à-vis the other trays above and below, the originally positioned trays must be removed from the end cap support wall and this could necessitate the removal of several trays positioned thereabove due to the space required to upwardly tilt the front end of the tray to disengage the connecting means from the receiving openings provided in the end cap support wall. This can result in a time consuming rearrangement of several upper shelves as well as the possibility of unnecessarily removing the goods on such adjacent shelves when those goods are to remain on display.
Accordingly, the present invention presents a shelf construction and system for enabling a single shelf to be removed from the shelf support and rearranged thereon in an altered vertical position within a much smaller vertical space than with prior art systems and thus eliminating the need to temporarily remove the shelf or shelves above that single shelf. This is preferably accomplished by modifying the rear portion of the presently utilized shelves in a simple and cost effective manner.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a releasable thin wall connector strip to the rear upstanding shelf wall and providing the attachment means for engaging the receiving openings in the end cap support wall. The strip, in essence, replaces the connecting function of the rear wall of the shelf. Since the strip is of very limited longitudinal extent, the strip itself can be upwardly tilted within a limited headspace to enable the connecting means provided thereon to slip out of the end cap wall openings and is then be reinserted into similar openings spaced above or below the original position. The shelf itself can then be reattached to the strip within a headspace only slightly greater than the vertical height of the shelf itself. This enables shelf rearrangement in limited spacing situations that would be impossible with currently used systems and generally avoids displacing the adjacent shelves above the selected shelf when those other shelves do not otherwise require repositioning.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by an end cap shelf system for mounting display shelves upon an end cap wall having openings adapted to receive shelf supporting means comprising a shelf having a flat bottom wall, a rear wall and front and side walls defining an open top display space adapted to receive merchandise for sale, said rear wall being laterally disposed and having a generally flat outer surface, a separate thin walled connector strip having generally planar opposed inner and outer faces to and connection means cooperatively provided on the outer face of said shelf rear wall and the inner face of said connector strip for releasably engaging said connector strip to said shelf rear wall when said connection means are vertically and laterally disposed with each other, and releasable locking means for holding said connector strip and said rear shelf wall in assembled engaged position, said strip outer face including said shelf supporting means.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.